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Closing Train Holes

From American Horologist magazine, April, 1936

Closing Train HolesBy C. WilkersonPast President M. W. A. of Colorado

WHEN we repair a watch, one of our objects is to restore the watch as near as possible to its original condition. Proper closing of the train holes, if an unjewelled watch, is an important part of the operation and is a matter not to be passed over lightly.

Some years ago the writer set about experimenting to determine in my own mind what I thought was the most practical and satisfactory method of closing train holes.One of the objects of the experiment was to determine a method that would preserve insofar as possible, the original thickness of the metal at the holes, and as a result, I adopted and used for this work, a flat faced punch with small hole.My method of procedure is as follows:First, before taking movement apart, oil the pivots with a liberal amount of oil. (There is nothing better than oil to loosen old oil.) Take hold of the center wheel and move the train forward and backward a few times. This will loosen the dry and gummed oil on the pivots and in the holes. Then rinse or brush movement in benzine.You can now ascertain whether or not any of the holes need closing, which should be done before actual cleaning.The object in using the flat faced punch is that it draws the metal from the sides of the countersink of the plates toward the center and leaves the metal thicker at the hole than would the ball faced punch, which has a tendency to drive the metal away from the hole and leaves the metal thinnest at the hole, the very point where it is needed.The hole in the punch clears the hole in the plate.By the use of the flat faced punch I experienced less difficulty in closing the holes evenly and keeping the train wheels upright, whereas, in my opinion, the ball faced punch, unless very carefully used, and even then sometimes will close the hole unevenly.

For best results, the size of the punch must be taken into consideration.

The upper plates or bridges, which have larger countersinks than the lower plate, naturally would require a larger sized punch than would be used on the lower plate with smaller countersinks.

I have three punches which I made especially for this work.

The smallest is 0 MM in diameter.

The largest about 1 MM in diameter.

Larger than this size, I use regular staking punches.

The punches are made on the order of the larger punches, except that they are turned to a smaller point and a small hole drilled.

The smaller punches are very necessary for small work, such as baguettes and other small watches and pallet bridges.

These punches are also very useful for various other purposes, such as closing the hole in a Waltham friction hub, closing jewel screw holes, etc.

As small a punch as practical should be used on a pallet bridge, as a large punch may spread the bridge or throw it out of shape.

For lower center and barrel arbor holes, I use a concave punch.

The holes should be reamed from both top and bottom, producing somewhat the effect of the olive hole jewel.

This I believe eliminates a certain amount of friction and will wear longer than if the hole is reamed from the top only.

When the hole is reamed to the desired size, it should be very slightly countersunk on the underside with a pivot drill, just enough to remove the sharp edge of the hole which will exist after closing and reaming.

This will eliminate to a great extent the probability of creating a burr in the hole when assembling train. It is very convenient to keep at hand for this purpose, a small pivot drill mounted in a piece of peg wood or metal.

Examine each wheel separately as work proceeds and see that each wheel is free and that the endshake is correct, especially the fourth wheel, if watch has a second hand.

Excessive endshake of the fourth wheel will permit the second hand to catch on the other hands.

After cleaning and assembling, take hold of the center wheel and move train forward and backward and examine pivots of entire train with a strong glass and see that all the pivots are free in their respective holes. This can be determined by noting the pivots move a little from side to side as train is reversed.

Avoid closing holes too tight. The train must be free and should back-lash.

Jeff,
I received my grandfather's watch which you restored for me yesterday. It is gratifying to see this watch in action after many years. It has probably not been working since 1912.
R. Z.

Hi Jeff!
Thank you so much! My watch looks great! The CD is great too…again,
Thanks so much,
Anna

Hey jeff. I got the watch safe and sound and the cd today. The watch looks better than I had anticipated. Another good job again.
Steve

Thanks Jeff, I am so happy I found you for repairs on my watches.
A. T.

Hello JeffThe watch came today works great, it`s neat to hear it run. I wonder how long its been since it ran, my great grandfather who owned the watch died in 1925. I want thank you for bringing it back to life
J. S.

Jeff,Just a quick note to let you know the watch is back home. It is an absolute joy to see and hear it run again after all these years. It was extremely emotional for me. I remember playing with it as a small boy, and never known it to work. My father would be very proud and humbled to know it was working again. I'm sure he knows. Thank you.
S. Welsh

Jeff,Watches look fantastic, run great. I can see why you're in high demand, you're a class act. You provide detail historical summary and preliminary review of watch prior to work, fair estimate, provide post work summary, along with high res images of watches to boot. Thanks again and
will certainly share your name around.
Thanks!
D. H.

Jeff,I received the watches today and must say I couldn't be more pleased. Thank you so much. It was wonderful to wind them up and here them tic again.
G. M.

I'm very pleased with the outcome and want to thank you for a job well done. The watch looks and runs great, and the hands you replaced are very much more in keeping with an Elgin watch of this time period.
As you might imagine, to send such a precious family heirloom all the way across the country to someone who I really didn't know, or know anything about, took a lot of faith and courage. You really measured up to my expectations.
Thanks and best wishes,
B. H.

Good Morning Jeff
I got the watch back and
I'm thrilled! I really appreciate your professionalism and workmanship.
It's really nice to have the watch back in working order! Especially since
the local repair indicated that it couldn't be fixed! Thanks so much for
everything. I'll certainly be back in touch when it needs maintenance.
M. H.

Hi Jeff –
I just received the watch you repaired for me. It’s absolutely fantastic!
Thanks so much for your excellent service.
A. C.